What Could Have Been
by LegendaryKnightSerin
Summary: Sword of Mana....short story with Dark LordHeroine pairing


I do not own Shinyaku Seiken Densetsu aka Sword of Mana, aka Final Fantasy Adventure.

Heroine is Purim, the Hero is Randi.

So quiet, very quiet.

Purim walked into the cold foyer of Granz castle. Her arms shivered and she rubbed them with her hands. She took a deep breath and stepped forward. Standing in the great hallway she looked to the ceiling. Her eyes scanned the high beams and beautiful coloured banners hanging above. Reds, blues, gold,embroidered withthe realm's bird emblem. The furniture was rich, the marble floors covered with magnificent rugs. So beautiful.

Such a grand place, hard to believe it was home of someone so evil. She tried to imagine Dark Lord's house on the way up here. A haunted mansion? A dungeon? A dark, filthy, run down brick castle filled with dead bodies? Far from it, his house appeared very well kept.

Purim turned around in a circle trying to decide where to go. She was nervous and couldn't think straight. A large, sparkling object caught her eye. A goddess statue...curious. Why would that be here? Dark Lord hated the mana clan so much, why didn't he destroy it? Purim decided to pray, she couldn't think of anything else to do, perhaps the goddess would give her guidance.

Purim knelt at the statue, tears welled up in her eyes as she gingerly touched the foot of the goddess with her fingertips.

"Why? Why...why? What does it all mean, what am I doing here? Where am I going? I don't think I have the strength to face him alone.." she sobbed.

"You don't have to." A familiar male voice said.

Purim looked up.

"Dark Lord" she gasped.

He knelt beside her.

"Bet you are wondering why I kept it?" He said as he looked up at the gold goddess.

"Yes...I , I was." Purim said shyly.

"This is the original. Sculpted by a cleric and plated with pure gold. There are many replicas but most were destroyed and stripped of their precious metals. I figure this will be worth something when your religion is long gone." He chuckled.

"I don't think your funny" she said crossly.

"No, I wouldn't think so.."

Purim looked at him, confused, and squinted.

"Wait a minute. What are you doing here?" she asked.

Dark Lord smiled at her.

"I was about to ask you the same. I don't believe you have it in you to kill me. So tell me mana maiden, why did you come here?"

"To stop you!" she cried. "I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have too, I have been trying to think of what to say to you the whole pathway here."

"And?" he questioned her.

"I don't know." she said looking to the floor. "When we were on the airship, for some reason I didn't get a bad feeling from you, even though you killed my family and destroyed our village. I don't understand."

Dark Lord sighed...

"You killed my mother and brother, yet I get no ill feeling from you...fate perhaps? Why don't we set this aside for now?"

She looked up at him, desperately trying to see his eyes.

"Ok, then, now what?" she asked.

"Come with me, I want to show you something." he said.

Dark Lord stood up and held his hand to her. Reluctantly, she took it. In an instant, he teleported both of them to another room.

She found herself in an average side bedroom. His room. One wall had large windows covered by enormous, flowing drapery. His bed, queen size with white linens and a blue and red luxurious spread. It was furnished and decorated quite simple.Dark Lord tapped her on the shoulder, startling her. He handed her an old book.

"You might find this interesting." he said.

Purim looked at the page it was open to and began to read it, captivated, she sat down on his bed to take in the words.

"I found the people of this world to be rather primitive and simple minded, they care only for their daily basic needs - farming, children, petty things. Controlling them will be no object, they will be easily confused and won over to submission...Vandole 14,8 04."

Purim looked up at Dark Lord, he was by the window, staring down to the grounds below. As if he could read her mind, he told her to read on.

"This world has Mana energy, like my own world of Fa'Diel. The people are aware of this energy but they do not understand it, nor are they capable of it...Vandole 14,9 04."

"What is this?" she demanded.

"The truth!" he said and he spun around to face her.

"I don't believe this." she said.

"Purim, I tried to tell you before, your whole mana clan and it's religion is false, you don't have to die for it or them." he pleaded with her.

Purim shut the book. She held it to her heart and rocked herself, trying desperately not to cry.

Dark Lord came to her and knelt before her. He brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"You know Purim, there is a way out of this, you don't have to go on." he said calmly.

"I can't, if I leave my people I will be an outcast, I will have nothing."

"And if you stay, you die at the foot of a tree, what a pickle for you to be in."

Purim gasped and began to tremble.

"I can fix all of this for you, give you a new life, here and now." he offered.

"But they would still come for me." she sobbed.

"I can fix that too." he said.

"Oh yeah right, how? Kill the rest of them?" she said sarcastically.

"Nooo.." He smiled. "I can make you useless to them, if you let me."

Purim squinted her eyes trying to figure him out.

"Oh no, I can't do THAT. What kind of trickery is this?" she scolded him.

"None at all. It was just a suggestion, you don't have to get angry."

Purim's mind raced. She remembered in her traveling with Randi, he was telling her all about how men in general are hormone crazy pigs, they are known to do or say anything to get a girl in between the sheets.

Yet Dark Lord intrigued her, she wanted to see his face, and she had to admit to herself that there was "something" there that attracted her to him. But how could she sin? Her conscience battled with her. The consequences, not to mention dissapointing Bogard and her people. Could she live with the guilt afterwards? But who would know that she had been with him..no one. Ok, why not? Give it a try.

"Show me your face" She said.

"So your answer is yes?" he asked.

"Yes, for now." She replied.

"Purim,"

"Don't make me change my mind"

"Very well." he said.

Reluctantly, he took off the mask. Purim glared into his deep grey eyes. Her heart melted. He looked like Devius, but more bold. Dark Lord slowly leaned forward to kiss her.

"What about Isabella?" she whispered.

"I don't want her."

"She was in your room on the airship." Purim backed away.

"So what. Nothing happened, and she and I are just friends." he said pulling her into him.

He pressed his lips to her, waiting to see and feel if she accepted him. She put her arms on his shoulders. He kept going, kissing her passionately, parting her lips with his tongue. She held on to him and parted her legs, her body tingled, and she felt faint and excited. He pushed her back, laying on top of her, her breath quickened and she moaned with pleasure as she writhed under him. She pushed his long, black, dark teal hair out of the way, but it kept falling and tickling her face. She felt hot, her own heat combined with his and no relief as he stood up and took his coat off, then quickly resuming where he left off. She giggled and pulled him in wanted more, he reached his hand down to his belt buckle.

Suddenly, she felt a hard, painful jab in her side.

"Owww." she said.

Then again. Another blow to her side. Her eyes flew open and she sat up. She was outside, on the cold ground, sitting on a blanket in front of a small, crackling campfire.

"Purim.!" Randi chuckled. "You're dreaming again!"


End file.
